LUNA

Age Range: 14 & up

Pub Date: May 1st, 2004ISBN: 0-316-73369-5Publisher: Little, Brown

Groundbreaking, finely tuned realism about a transsexual teen. Sophomore Regan’s own life barely exists because of the fierce needs of her 17-year-old brother Liam—who is, in Liam’s heart, mind, and soul, a girl named Luna. Regan is Luna’s confidant and support, and the only person who knows. Their cold parents refuse to notice hints; peers surmise (incorrectly) that Liam is gay. Regan and Luna’s often-painful closeness has prevented Luna’s suicide over the years, but middle-of-the-night dresses, wigs, and makeup aren’t enough anymore; Liam can’t stand to exist at all, and begins the transition publicly to Luna. Peters writes her characters with care and complexity. Regan’s clumsy new romance and Luna’s coming out to a lifelong friend who’s in love with Liam shiver with tenuousness, but find hope. At the end, Luna’s off to Seattle to begin the process that will end with sex-reassignment surgery and Regan’s ready to focus on herself for a change. The first of its kind—well done and essential for every library serving young adults. (Fiction. YA)